In the Face of Danger
by Alligates
Summary: Something has been attacking campers, and Will Solace is sick of it. Someone needs to deal with it, he knows. However, he didn't think that Nico di Angelo would just run off without help. Naturally, he grabs his knife and follows him. Written for the Solangelo Anthology over on tumblr, which means yes, this is a Solangelo story. Tiny bit of monster gore, people getting injured, etc


**Guess who's Solangelo trash? It's me, it's me.**

 **I made this for the Solangelo Anthology over on tumblr (look it up yo it's gr8). I'll put a link on my profile.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Will!"

Someone was shaking him.

Will did not want to be shaken. He wanted to be asleep.

He turned away from the voice with a grunt as a verbalization of this sentiment.

"Will," the voice repeated, a note of urgency creeping in. "Will, wake up. We need you."

Will let out a resigned sigh, opening his eyes. He sat up slowly, willing his mind into consciousness.

His sister Kayla stood by his bunk, looking about as exhausted as he felt. "There's been another attack," she murmured.

Will rubbed a hand over his face, breathing deeply.

"Tell them I'll be right there," he mumbled into his palms. By the creaking of the floorboards, he could hear Kayla leave.

He gave himself one more minute to sit on his bed in peace before he followed.

* * *

The camper was crying when he arrived, and the bleeding wounds on her abdomen were tinged with the same shade of poisonous green that he had seen on the four prior victims of that week.

The green had already begun to climb up her veins, crawling outwards from her injuries.

Ambrosia and nectar were ineffective. They had even tried unicorn draught, but nothing seemed to be working.

They all knew what would happen, but still they tried, and still they poured their hearts into the songs they sang to Apollo.

The venom reached the last veins of the victim's body, and she fell unconscious. The healers silently expressed their frustration at this enemy they could not defeat, and worried continually for friends who had fallen under similar spells.

And in the end, Will had to utter the words he hated saying.

"Put her with the others."

* * *

Nico came up to him one day, when he was sitting on Half-Blood Hill and trying to ignore his own ineptitude. The count had risen to thirteen, attacked in the middle of the night, unable to explain what had happened, and eventually falling comatose as the venom took over.

"What's going on?" Nico asked softly.

Will sighed through his nose. "I don't know."

"What can we do?"

Will paused before looking up at his friend. "Nothing." He did not mean to glare, but he was not in the mood to smile.

Nico still sat down beside him when he said no more, offering the comfort of a presence, if nothing else.

* * *

The first sighting happened shortly before dinner.

A camper started screaming on his way to the dining pavillion, raving about a monster in the woods, with black fur coating its entire body save its head, poison dripping from its mouth, and green eyes buried in too-large sockets.

Will needed no further details.

"Campers will probably be forbidden from entering the woods," Will sighed to Nico, "until someone deals with it. This isn't stopping any time soon."

Nico frowned, but said nothing.

* * *

Will's heart sank when he was next awakened, not by Kayla, but by Nico.

"Nico?" he mumbled when his eyes cleared. "What are you—where's Kayla?"

The grave look in his dark eyes told Will far more than he wanted to know. "Come on."

Will followed him, cold dread sinking into his stomach.

The victims were not dying, according to Nico, at least not yet. The venom was feeding off of them, sapping their strength, leaving them empty husks that slowly withered away.

It had been two weeks since the first camper was attacked, and he was not faring well. They had healed his physical wounds, but the venom traced its way through his body either way. The boy's face was as pale as the sheets he lay over, and his green veins stood out in sharp contrast.

Will thought of funeral pyres, of grey smoke billowing into the sky and blotting out the stars, and his eyes watered.

He tripped, and Nico grabbed his hand to steady him. Neither let go until they reached the Big House and entered the infirmary.

Kayla was screaming and crying, and not a word that left her mouth was coherent.

It was more of a formality than anything else when Will joined his siblings' chanting and prayed to his father.

Nico stood in the corner, and frowned.

* * *

It was midday, and Will was back on the hill. The other campers had learned to avoid him by then, understanding that it was probably best to leave him alone.

All except one, of course, but that one's presence was always welcomed.

On that day, however, Will found himself even more lonely than usual, and he was just beginning to wonder where Nico had got to when he saw Jason Grace running towards him, looking anxious.

"Will!" he called. "Have you seen Nico? I've been looking everywhere for him, and I can't find him."

Will frowned. "No, I haven't seen him." Then he was struck by a thought. "Oh gods. You don't think he—"

"That's what I'm worried about," Jason muttered. He watched Will for a second, contemplating an idea.

Will, on the other hand, was not going to waste any time to think. He shot to his feet. "What are you waiting for? We have to go after him!"

Jason stopped him. "We don't even know if he—"

"I don't care!" Will yelled, surprising both of them. " _If_ he is, then he'll need help. I am going, with or without you," he declared, glaring up at the taller boy.

Jason nodded, as if that was exactly what he had wanted to hear. "I'll go with you." He drew his golden sword, and it gleamed in the sunlight.

Will drew a bronze knife from his belt. He was a healer, first and foremost, but a demigod could never be too careful.

And they ran down the hill, heading straight for the woods.

* * *

Will saw him first, moving like a flash of black lightning through the trees, disappearing into shadows every now and then to reappear a few feet away.

The beast Nico circled was confused, bald white head twitching around, sending venomous spittle in all directions.

It had long claws, each as long as Will's forearm. It had no teeth, but it didn't need any, as Will knew full well the damage that the venom alone was capable of inflicting.

The son of Hades was slowing down, and Jason looked too shocked to move.

"Nico!" Will cried. Nico faltered in surprise, and the monster whipped around to face him. Its pupils shrank to pinpricks as it locked onto him, and it hissed.

"Solace, get out of here!" Nico yelled, but his voice sounded strained and weak.

"You get out of here! I'm trying to help!" Will shouted back, tightening his grip around his small knife. His hands were sweating.

The monster shook its pale head and let out a hoarse scream, the ground shaking at the sound.

Jason, struck out of his stupor, raised his sword and advanced with a fierce cry. The woods were too thick for him to call upon the winds to carry him, so he stayed low to the ground. He hacked at the monster's legs, jumping back when it spat venom at him.

Will ran over to Nico, who was skitting around in the monster's blind spot, stabbing when he saw an opening. As Will got closer, however, he could see that the other boy held one arm tightly around his middle, and he wasn't moving as steadily as he should have been.

The son of Apollo thought of green veins and white hospital beds.

Will grabbed Nico's arm and started pulling him away.

Nico resisted. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"You're hurt! We have to get you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine! The monster—"

"Jason can handle it," Will said firmly. "I'm more worried about you."

Nico seemed a bit stunned at the words, and offered few further protests. Will pulled him deeper into the woods, away from the monster. He leaned the son of Hades against a tree and moved his arm so he could get a look at the wound. Nico hissed when Will prodded it, but there was no trace of green, and the healer let out a sigh of relief. There was, however, quite a lot of bleeding, and it would be ideal to go to the infirmary as soon as possible.

"We have to help Jason," Nico mumbled, but his voice was only getting weaker, and he was breathing hard.

Will was about to repeat his previous statement when a cry came from behind them, and there was the _thwack_ of a body being slammed into a tree.

Nico and Will looked at each other.

Will could see there was only one option, even if Nico couldn't. "Give me your sword."

Nico's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?"

 _Absolutely_ , Will thought. "You're hurt, and Jason needs help. My knife won't do enough damage."

"I can—"

"No. It's too dangerous," Will said immediately.

Nico grabbed his arms. "Will, don't do this."

Will stared into his eyes, blue to black, and felt a strange rush of warmth through his entire body. He wanted to—he wasn't really sure what he wanted to do.

"Someone has to," he eventually murmured, gently prying the sword from Nico's slack grip. He took a step back and breathed deeply, heart thrumming against his ribcage.

"Be careful," Nico breathed, brow scrunched in pain, or maybe worry, or both.

Will took strength from that dark gaze, and he nodded.

And then he ran to the beast.

* * *

Will wasn't quite sure of what happened next, but the next thing he could remember was trudging out of the woods, nearly dragging Nico beside him, with Jason wobbling behind, asking questions that would not be answered.

There was a crowd of worried campers waiting for them just out of the forest. Will could feel Nico getting heavier and heavier on his arm, and he didn't know how much longer he could support his weight. His shoulder felt warm and sticky, and he knew that it wasn't all from Nico. There was something off about his head, too, and everything seemed to be gently swaying.

An Apollo camper ran up to them first. Will only recognized him by the blond of his hair; everything was slowly going out of focus.

"Will!" the camper exclaimed. "It's incredible! The patients, they're getting better!"

"Good," Will said, mostly to himself. "That means it's dead." Nico was almost completely unconscious now, and he wasn't far behind, but he noted with some pleasure that they were both still alive.

The camper frowned in confusion before his eyes drifted down and widened. "Will, you're bleeding."

Will nodded. "Yes." And then he fainted.

* * *

He awoke in a hospital bed. His shoulder was stiffly wrapped in bandages, and his head still felt someone was using his skull as a trampoline, but he could feel the pleasant burn of ambrosia on his tongue, and he felt much more lucid than he had earlier.

Trying to sit up, however, proved to him that he was not, in fact, quite as fine as he felt, and he fell back with a groan.

"You shouldn't move," said a voice to his right.

Will looked over, and there sat Nico, slowly sipping a glass of water from his own bed.

"Hi," Will said stupidly. Nico's hair was slightly ruffled from sleep, and he had deigned to wrap himself entirely in the thin hospital sheet they gave him and thus lie, entirely cocooned, upon his bed. Will had not been prepared to wake up to such an image.

Looking around, he could see that the surrounding hospital beds were all empty, and he had a small moment of panic.

"They're all okay," Nico quickly explained upon noticing his friend's widening eyes. "They left a bit earlier, but they're fine. The venom left their systems after the thing died."

"That's good," Will mumbled, slowly pushing himself up with a grunt until he was sitting up. "Are you okay?"

Nico looked taken aback, just as he had earlier, so unused to hearing someone express concern for him. He scowled, but his cheeks were pink when he answered. "I'm fine, you idiot. You should worry about yourself. That monster did a number on you."

Will raised his eyebrows, and a small smirk played at his lips. "Oh, okay, _doctor_ di Angelo."

Nico reddened further and took a longer sip of his drink, looking away. "Shut up," he grumbled belatedly, and Will felt a rush of affection.

They drifted into comfortable silence until Nico spoke again.

"You saved their lives, you know," he said softly. "And. Um. Mine too. And Jason's."

"Jason?" Will repeated.

"Yeah. I think he came by earlier…? He seemed fine. Minor concussion."

"Ah. That's good. Well, not _good_ , I mean, but—"

Nico laughed. "I get it."

Will beamed at him.

* * *

It was a few days later, after being released from the infirmary, that they finally got to speak properly again.

Will was back on Half-Blood Hill. He found that Peleus' company was quite pleasant, and it was calming to be able to look down and see all of Camp Half-Blood stretched out below him.

He heard footsteps in the grass beside him, and looked up to see Nico blocking the sunlight.

"Hey," Will greeted, patting the space beside him.

Nico sat down. "Hey," he replied. His cheeks were slightly pink, and he looked nervous.

Will thought little of it, content to simply be in the other boy's presence. They sat and watched the camp undergo its daily activities. Jason and Piper were scaling the lava wall together, and Will's siblings were instructing some of the younger campers at the archery range.

Nico suddenly cleared his throat, and Will looked over at him. The son of Hades was staring at Will's nose, unable to meet his eyes. "Will. Um. There's something I forgot to… tell you," he admitted.

Will hummed. "Yeah?"

Nico was gradually turning deeper shades of red, and he was inching closer and closer to Will. "I was just… thinking, um…."

Nico raised his eyes and finally met Will's. His hand came up, seemingly of its own volition, and placed itself gently on Will's cheek.

"Um," Nico said eloquently, leaning forwards slightly, face a very unnatural colour.

Will stared right back at Nico, stomach doing somersaults, and he thought he would die right then from how hard his heart was beating.

He did not die, and instead leaned in to close the distance between them, softly pressing his lips to Nico's.

* * *

 **Yes, yes, I skipped the whole fight scene. I am a lazy cheater who should be punished. Though I rather thought the smooching would quite make up for it, so... forgive me?**

 **Awkward teenage romance is what I _live for_. I've only lived a tiny amount of it but it is still life to my shrivelled heart. I live vicariously**

 **Thank you for reading!**


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